First, let me say that when I was helping Jill plan Mallory's party, I asked her what she was going to do for a cake. She replied that she was going to make an owl shaped cake! I was so excited, as I didn't know she was a baker! She quickly informed me that she is 'no baker at all and never cooks'. My heart skipped a few beats and I suggested that she do a practice round to make sure she could actually do it. She blew me off and told me she was just going to 'wing it'! (possible pun intended, not sure!) The "planner" in me almost shed a tear in my anxious state, but tried to have a little faith in my friend. I secretly started praying at night that she had a hidden talent that she might not know about...and please, let it be cake decorating!!! FINGERS CROSSED!
I nearly screamed out loud with JOY when I saw the AMAZING cake that my, self-proclaimed non-baker friend made! So absolutely adorable!!
And with the amount of requests from readers about this cake, I think Jill needs to "wing it" more often!!
So here is a written tutorial in Jill's own words, on how she made the super-duper-ridiculously-fantastic Owl cake!!
"To make the cake, I started with this recipe from Parenting.com:
This cake was Jill's inspiration! I think it's safe to say that her cake STOMPS this one! Sorry, it's true.
http://www.parenting.com/article/how-to-make-an-owl-birthday-cake
I followed the recipe exactly, except I just made the cake smaller. They call for you to use 2 sets of Pyrex bowls (one 1-quart set and one 12 oz. set) to make the cake and then stack them on top of each other. I only used one set of 1-quart Pyrex bowls and went from there.
I used strawberry icing (rather than chocolate) for the entire body of the cake. I piped the wings on using a Zip-Lock bag (with one of the corners cut off) filled with chocolate icing.
I followed the Parenting.com recipe and used Oreos and Junior mints for the tufts/ears and for the eyes. (See recipe for specific details.)
Instead of banana-shaped Runts, I molded Starbursts into the shapes of the beak and the heart on the owl’s head
As an add-on to the recipe, I used pieces of pretzel sticks for the “branch” the owl is sitting on.
Another add-on: the “polka dots” on the wings are white chocolate chips turned upside down.
Hope that helps!"
Thank you so much, Jill, for taking the time (twice...I lost her instructions the first time! Ugh!) to share how you make the cake!
Now, WHOOO wants to bake one???
23 comments:
sooo cute! cakes are hard, i tried once and had a leaning tower! lol
Cari - Thank you for all of your sweet comments! I am so glad that the cake was a success, even though I had doubts myself!
Love,
Your Self-Proclaimed Non-Baker Friend :)
Super cute. Thanks for sharing the tutorial.
so cute! Love that cake!!
oh my goodness, too cute! I love owls. This is so impressive.
:)
LC
I love the cake! I looked on the detailed directions on the link given but it never tells how many cake mixes to use and how much you put in each bowl?
Hello Anonymous (3/13/11 @ 3:24 PM) -
I used one cake mix and poured enough to alomost fill the bowls - to allow room for the cake to rise. I probably stopped about 1 inch down from the rim of the bowl, if that makes any sense! (This is Jill, the cake-maker, by the way!) Thanks!
I've been planning my baby girl's 1st bday party (owl themed) for the longest. The last thing to get right was the cake design and nothing came close until this!! I absolutely love the design you did as oppose to the recipe :D My only question I have left is at what temp & how long did you have to bake before it was done? Thanks!!
Hi Colonel Pink! This is Jill - the cake maker. Just wanted to let you know that I don't exactly remember the temp and how long I baked the cakes. I just followed the cake mix directions for baking in glass bowls. I hope that helps a little bit! Also, thank you so much for your sweet compliment about my cake! Good luck with your little one's owl party. I am sure it will be great!
Hi Jill -- I too am planning my owl-theme twin girls 1st B-day Party and love this cake! I actually saw the Parenting.com article where they shared the recipe, but I agree your's look a lot cuter!
I have a question though...I don't quite understand how you did the wings!
Thanks for sharing!!
Hi Anonymous (5/18/11 @ 12:22 p.m.) -
This is Jill. For the wings, I just put chocolate icing into a zip-lock bag, cut off one of the corners, and piped the wings on free-handed until I had the shape that I wanted. I then added white chocolate chips (turned upside down) to the "wings" to make polka dots. Hope that helps! Good luck with your cake!
Hi Jill - thanks for the directions. I have a question about the strawberry icing - how did you make it? Thanks!
Hi Natalie!
This is Jill, the cake-maker. I actually just used store-bought strawberry icing. I am not THAT good! :)
Jill -- (I posted a few months ago as Anonymous about my twin girl b-day party) Thanks a LOT, I made two smash cakes for my twin girls (one blue, one pink) and they came out looking great!! I used vanilla frosting and put a couple drops of food coloring! Also, since I couldn't find the pretzel sticks I use Twix for the branches!!
@Colonel Pink -- I got a ball shaped pan at Amazon.com and followed the baking instructions, they came out pefect. I used only half of the ball for each, because I was making two!!
Hi Anonymous (8/5/11 @ 8:29 a.m.) -
This is Jill. So glad to hear that your cakes turned out great! So happy I was able to help in any way!
I cannot wait to try this cake recipe for my daughter's 2nd birthday - I love the pink frosting idea...
I am also super curious as to where you got the owl hair clip or decoration for your daughter! Love that added touch... do share...
Sorry! I am REALLY a first-time baker :) U grease and flour the bowls, then bake in oven on what temp and for how long? How long do u leave in bowls? Then how do u get out of bowls? Do u let cool out of bowls or in bowls? U stack them with smaller part on bottom/top with frosting in the middle? Do u have a pic of the side of this cake? Thanks!!!
For those looking for specific cooking directions, this lady followed the parenting.com recipe but gave detailed directions. I love Jill's smaller cake better--it's just so cute!--but this site will tell you the directions http://amberpagewrites.com/2011/04/how-to-make-a-kick-ass-owl-cake.html
Hello @Anonymous from 9/21/11 -
This is Jill, the cake-maker. I purchased the owl clip froma local lady here in Chattanooga. I believe you can find it here: http://www.autumnraythreads.com/sewcuteshop/shop-other-items.html
Hi! I found your amazing owl smash cake while I was searching for a cake for my twins 1st birthday and it was exactly what I was looking for! I thought I would share with you that your directions were super easy to follow and my smash cakes came out super! Thought I would share the post on my blog that has a pic (as well as send people your way that are looking at how I made mine): http://www.mommyhoot.com/owl-smash-cakes.html
Hey, it's truly looking epic! As the same owl design concept is really looking loving and best for children. It's truly one of the most idealize source to surprise my son on his birthday. I am totally inspired to see that one. Thanks for sharing.
This cake is adprable, did you have to carve out the shape or did you just put your 2 1qt cakes together?
I made this cake for by little girls first birthday and it was a hit! The directions weren't super clear so i had to eye ball it. I cooked it like it says on the box 350 i think and cooked for 30 minutes (or till done) I used one cake mix but didn't use the entire thing since you want to leave an inch or so to leave room for it to rise as it bakes. Fun fact I used oreos and cut them to make for the ear and put the pink frosting in front. turned out adorable and everyone loved it. Thanks for the inspiration!
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